General Motors plans to replace Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with Google’s infotainment system in future electric vehicles

General Motors plans to phase out widely used Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technologies that allow drivers to bypass a vehicle’s infotainment systems, switching instead to in-vehicle infotainment systems developed with Google for future electric vehicles .

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems allow users to mirror their smartphone screens to a vehicle’s dashboard display.

GM’s decision to stop offering these systems in future electric vehicles, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, could help the automaker collect more data on how consumers drive and charge electric vehicles.

GM is designing in-car navigation and infotainment systems for future electric vehicles in partnership with Alphabet’s Google.

The decision to phase out projection technology from CarPlay smartphones is a setback for Apple Inc in the competition with Google to capture more space on vehicle dashboards in North America. In the past, GM’s Chevrolet brand boasted of offering more models with CarPlay or Android Auto than any other brand.

GM has been working with Google since 2019 to develop the software foundations for infotainment systems that will be more tightly integrated with other vehicle systems such as GM’s Super Cruise driving assistant. The automaker is accelerating a strategy for its electric vehicles to be digital subscription service platforms.

By 2035, GM’s goal is to phase out production of new light-duty combustion vehicles.

GM would benefit from focusing engineers and investments on an approach to more closely connect in-car infotainment and navigation with features like assisted driving, said Edward Kummer, GM’s chief digital officer, and Mike Himche, chief executive of the digital cockpit experience. interview.

“We have a lot of new driver assistance features that are more closely related to navigation,” Himche told Reuters. “We don’t want to design these features so that someone has a cell phone.”

Buyers of GM electric vehicles equipped with the new systems will have access to Google Maps and Google Assistant, a voice-command system, at no additional cost for eight years, GM said. GM said future infotainment systems will offer apps such as Spotify’s music service, Audible and other services that many drivers now access through smartphones.

GM plans to continue offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mirroring systems in its combustion models. Owners of vehicles equipped with the mirroring technologies will still be able to use the systems, GM said.

Drivers will also still be able to listen to music or make phone calls on iPhones or Android smartphones using Bluetooth wireless connectivity, GM said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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